1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to toilet seats. More particularly, the present invention relates to toilet seats including lowering and lifting mechanisms assisting a user when engaging and disengaging a toilet.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Lifting toilet seats have been provided by artisans wishing to address problems some persons may have in using common toilets. A common toilet is designed to accommodate healthy persons in a sitting position. Persons wishing to use a toilet generally start from a standing position and bend their knees to sit on a toilet seat. While most would not pay mind to this relatively common act, many persons are disabled in a manner which prevents them sitting upon a toilet without great difficulty.
Consequently, inventors have set forth and applied their skills in an attempt to solve this problem. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,703 discloses a powered toilet seat lift. The device employs fluid powered cylinders to lift a seat vertically from a toilet bowl. The complex arrangement is not easy to install or clean, and may be expensive as it requires a great deal of specialized materials and equipment. Alternatively, Hydra-Commode Lift Services Inc. teach a hydraulically activated device to raise a person from a toilet. The device is primarily concerned with lifting large loads and is, therefore, designed with special features which may address those problems. Again, the device may serve well its main purpose, but it requires a complex machine and installation which might not suit all facilities. The elderly particularly have a difficult time installing such devices and would likely find this machine cumbersome.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,082,327 to Ward et al. a chair having a seat which operates to lift its user therefrom is disclosed. Ward et al. also disclose a toilet seat designed with the intention of aiding one""s use of a toilet. U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,617 shows a detailed presentation relating to a tilting seat driven by hydraulic pressure. Finally U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,085 shows another technique for employing fluid power to urge one from a sitting position.
Notwithstanding, applicant has developed a novel toilet seat in combination with stored energy devices, particularly to assist persons, especially the infirm, elderly, or otherwise disabled, as they use toilets.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a toilet seat apparatus including a base member adapted for selective attachment to a toilet, a unitary one-piece seat pivotally secured to the base member such that the seat may rotate forward, and an energy storing strut including a first end coupled to the base member and a second end coupled to the seat.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a toilet seat apparatus including a base member adapted for selective attachment to a toilet, a seat pivotally secured to the base member such that the seat may rotate forward and an energy storing strut including a first end coupled to the base member and a second end coupled to the seat. The seats includes laterally spaced first and second pivot pins shaped and dimensioned for respective receipt in supports formed in a top surface of the base member.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide a toilet seat including a base member adapted for selective attachment to a toilet, a seat pivotally secured to the base member such that the seat may rotate forward and an energy storing strut including a first end coupled to the base member and a second end coupled to the seat. The seat includes a sealing edge along the bottom thereof, wherein the sealing edge being shaped and dimensioned to seal the space between the base member and the seat when the seat is in a horizontal position;
It is another object of the present invention to provide a toilet seat apparatus including a base member adapted for selective attachment to a toilet and a seat pivotally secured to the base member such that the seat may rotate forward, wherein the seat is of a unitary, one-piece construction. The toilet seat apparatus also includes a release plate facilitating selective attachment of the base member to a toilet. The release plate includes openings spaced and dimensioned for permitting attachment of the release plate to a toilet. The release plate also includes a plurality of tongues shaped and dimensioned for engagement with the base member in a manner coupling the base member to the release plate.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when viewed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which set forth certain embodiments of the invention.